Oscar b



UNITED STATES PATENT EErcE.

OSCAR B. BRANN, OF VASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

PUZZLE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 616,765, dated December 27, 1898. Application filed September 9, 1896. Serial ITO-690,592. (No model.)

T all whom it may concern:

Be itknown that I, OSCAR B. BRANN, a citizen of the United States, residingat \Vashington, in the District of Columbia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Puzzles, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

My invention relates to a game or puzzle; and it consists of aboard of special construction in combination with one or more toy figures adapted to be moved upon the board, as will be fully described hereinafter.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view of my improved board. Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse section through one of the grooves of the board. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section taken through a portion of one of the grooves. Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the toy figure; and Fig. 5 isa vertical section of the toy, showing its internal mechanism.

The board A has upon its surface anumber of irregularly-extending grooves a, which intersect one another at different points and which are so relatively located upon the board as to constituteroutes of travel from one point to another. At points where two or more grooves or ways intersect one another stations or stopping-places, as indicated at B, are delineated on the board, such stations being designated by names of cities-such as Santiago, Havana, rise. The particular relative arrangement of the grooves and the location of stations are not essential,.theinvention comprehending any desired details in these particulars.

As illustrated in Fig. 2, the grooves are of dovetail form in cross-section with a vertical depression a in the base or bottom of the groove. Some of the grooves are provided at intervals within the depression a with beveled stops a for a purpose hereinafter described.

Referring to Figs. 4. and 5, Odesignates the body of the toy figure, provided with a base 0 of dovetail form to fit the grooves in the board. The body 0 is provided near its upper end with a transverse recess 0, extending across the body and open at one end. Within this recess is arranged a movable arm D, which is curved, as shown, so that its outer end (I, constituting the hand of the figure, will be normally in position to rest on the top of the head E of the figure. A coil-springF is located within the recess 0, one end of said spring being secured to the wall of the recess andthe other end to the adjacent end of the arm D. The body 0 is formed with a central vertical bore G, which extends through the base 0 and communicates at its upper end with the recess 0. Within this bore G is arranged a rod H, which projects below the base cof the figure and is provided at its upperend with a hook or catch h, which engages a notch h, formed in the arm D. Normally the arm D is pushed inward against the tension of its spring F and is held in this position by the engagement of the hook of the rod H with the notch h.

The body is provided at its upper end with a socket I, within which fits a hollow lug or projection t' of the head E of the figure. The head is vertically recessed to receive a coil spring J, the upper end of which is located at the top of the head-E, while its lower end extends through the hollow projection 7 and is adapted to bear against the top of the shaft H, and when said spring is compressed it forces the hook it down into the notch 72, in the arm. The head is held in place upon the body by the contact of the arm D with the head.

The operation of the device as thus constructed is as follows: The toy figure is designed to represent a soldier, and it is preferably lnade in imitation of awounded soldier, who desires to return home from a place of battle-as, for example, Santiago-which point is designated on the board as the starting point of the soldiers journey. The grooves or routes to he traveled are so prearranged that the figure my be moved along the grooves from the starting-point to its destination if the proper route is selected. At starting the figure is in the position shown in Fig. 5, the springs being compressed, the arm being held by the rod, and the head being held by the arm. As long as the figure moves along the correct route-that is to say, through grooves having no obstructions, such as the beveled stops its progress is not interrupted; but as soon as it encounters one of said stops the lower end of the rod H rides up the inclined'stop, causing the rod to rise, thus disengaging its hook from the notch of the arm and releasing the arm. The spring F then forces the arm outward, causing it in turn to release the head, which is immediately forced upward and out of engagement with the body by the spring J. The falling off of the head notifies the player to retrace his path and try another one ai'ter restoring the parts to their first position.

In the drawings 1 have designated the home station or destination New York and have given the intermediate points between Santiago and New York various names of places. It will however be understood that these are mere arbitrary designations and in no wise restrict the invention.

One or more complete routes unobstructed by the stops a will be provided, and the solving of the puzzle consists in selecting these unobstructed routes and landing the soldier at his destination with his head on.

I do not desire to be restricted to the particular mechanism shown for effecting the dropping off of the soldiers head, but reserve the right to make all such changes and modifications as may properly fall within the scope of the following claims.

I claim- 1. A game-board provided with grooved ways, one or more of which is provided with obstructions, in combination with a figure having a projection movable independently of the figure and adapted to contact with said obstructions.

2. The combination with a grooved gameboard, of a toy figure adapted to be moved along the grooves of the board, said figure having a detachable portion adapted to be operated by a tripping device engaging projections Within said grooves.

8. The combination with a game-board provided with intersecting grooves constituting guideways, one or more of said grooves having beveled obstructions, of a toy figure adapted to travel in said grooves and having a detachable head, a sliding spring-pressed portion engaging the detachable head, and means for disengaging the head and springpressed portion.

4. The combination with a grooved gameboard, of a toy figure recessed transversely and bored longitudinally, a spring-pressed arm for said figure, a spring-pressed head, and a tripping-rod.

5. The combination with a game-board provided with a dovetailed groove the bottom of which is formed with a vertical channel, of a toy figure dovetailed to fit the groove, and centrally bored, a rod extending through the bore of the figure, a spring-pressed arm adapted to be engaged by said rod, and a springpressed head adapted to be engaged and held in position by said arm.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

OSCAR B. BRANN.

lVitnesses:

A. K. CARTER, I. W. PARRY. 

